Research of the electrical anisotropic characteristics of water-conducting fractured zones in coal seams

Water flooding disasters are one of the five natural coal-mining disasters that threaten the lives of coal miners. The main causes of this flooding are water-conducting fractured zones within coal seams. However, when resistivity methods are used to detect water-conducting fractured zones in coal seams, incorrect conclusions can be drawn because of electrical anisotropy within the water-conducting fractured zones. We present, in this paper, a new geo-electrical model based on the geology of water-conducting fractured zones in coal seams. Factors that influence electrical anisotropy were analyzed, including formation water resistivity, porosity, fracture density, and fracture surface roughness, pressure, and dip angle. Numerical simulation was used to evaluate the proposed electrical method. The results demonstrate a closed relationship between the shape of apparent resistivity and the strike and dip of a fracture. Hence, the findings of this paper provide a practical resistivity method for coal-mining production.

Numerical investigation of geostress influence on the grouting reinforcement effectiveness of tunnel surrounding rock mass in fault fracture zones

Grouting is a widely used approach to reinforce broken surrounding rock mass during the construction of underground tunnels in fault fracture zones,and its reinforcement effectiveness is highly affected by geostress.In this study,a numerical manifold method(NMM)based simulator has been developed to examine the impact of geostress conditions on grouting reinforcement during tunnel excavation.To develop this simulator,a detection technique for identifying slurry migration channels and an improved fluid-solid coupling(FeS)framework,which considers the influence of fracture properties and geostress states,is developed and incorporated into a zero-thickness cohesive element(ZE)based NMM(Co-NMM)for simulating tunnel excavation.Additionally,to simulate coagulation of injected slurry,a bonding repair algorithm is further proposed based on the ZE model.To verify the accuracy of the proposed simulator,a series of simulations about slurry migration in single fractures and fracture networks are numerically reproduced,and the results align well with analytical and laboratory test results.Furthermore,these numerical results show that neglecting the influence of geostress condition can lead to a serious over-estimation of slurry migration range and reinforcement effectiveness.After validations,a series of simulations about tunnel grouting reinforcement and tunnel excavation in fault fracture zones with varying fracture densities under different geostress conditions are conducted.Based on these simula-tions,the influence of geostress conditions and the optimization of grouting schemes are discussed.

Predicting the height of water-flow fractured zone during coal mining under the Xiaolangdi Reservoir

It is very important to determine the extent of the fractured zone through which water can flow before coal mining under the water bodies.This paper deals with methods to obtain information about overburden rock failure and the development of the fractured zone while coal mining in Xin'an Coal Mine.The risk of water inrush in this mine is great because 40%of the mining area is under the Xiaolangdi reservoir.Numerical simulations combined with geophysical methods were used in this paper to obtain the development law of the fractured zone under different mining conditions.The comprehensive geophysical method described in this paper has been demonstrated to accurately predict the height of the water-flow fractured zone.Results from the new model, which created from the results of numerical simulations and field measurements,were successfully used for making decisions in the Xin'an Coal Mine when mining under the Xiaolangdi Reservoir.Industrial scale experiments at the number 11201,14141 and 14191 working faces were safely carried out.These achievements provide a successful background for the evaluation and application of coal mining under large reservoirs.

Fractured zone height of longwall mining and its effects on the overburden aquifers

As mining depth becomes deeper and deeper,the possibility of undermining overburden aquifers is increasing.It is very important for coal miners to undertake studies on the height of fractured zone during longwall mining and the effects of longwall mining on the underground water while mining under surface water bodies and underground aquifers.In order to study this problem,piezometers for monitoring underground water levels were installed above the longwall panels in an American coalmine.Large amounts of pre-mining,during mining and post-mining monitoring data were collected.Based on the data,the heights of fractured zones were obtained and the effects of longwall mining on the underground water were studied.The results demonstrate that when the piezometer monitoring wells had an interburden thickness of less than 72.7 m,the groundwater level decreased immediately to immeasurable levels and the wells went dry after undermining the face of longwall.The height of the fractured zone is 72.7-85.3 m in the geological and mining conditions.The results also show that the calculated values of fractured zones by the empirical formulae used in China are smaller than the actual results.Therefore,it is not always safe to use them for analyses while mining under water bodies.

A method for predicting the water-flowing fractured zone height based on an improved key stratum theory

In the process of using the original key stratum theory to predict the height of a water-flowing fractured zone(WFZ),the influence of rock strata outside the calculation range on the rock strata within the calculation range as well as the fact that the shape of the overburden deformation area will change with the excavation length are ignored.In this paper,an improved key stratum theory(IKS theory)was proposed by fixing these two shortcomings.Then,a WFZ height prediction method based on IKS theory was established and applied.First,the range of overburden involved in the analysis was determined according to the tensile stress distribution range above the goaf.Second,the key stratum in the overburden involved in the analysis was identified through IKS theory.Finally,the tendency of the WFZ to develop upward was determined by judging whether or not the identified key stratum will break.The proposed method was applied and verified in a mining case study,and the reasons for the differences in the development patterns between the WFZs in coalfields in Northwest and East China were also fully explained by this method.

Structural failure mechanism and strengthening method of fracture plugging zone for lost circulation control in deep naturally fractured reservoirs

Focused on the lost circulation control in deep naturally fractured reservoirs, the multiscale structure of fracture plugging zone is proposed based on the theory of granular matter mechanics, and the structural failure pattern of plugging zone is developed to reveal the plugging zone failure mechanisms in deep, high temperature, high pressure, and high in-situ stress environment. Based on the fracture plugging zone strength model, key performance parameters are determined for the optimal selection of loss control material(LCM). Laboratory fracture plugging experiments with new LCM are carried out to evaluate the effect of the key performance parameters of LCM on fracture plugging quality. LCM selection strategy for fractured reservoirs is developed. The results show that the force chain formed by LCMs determines the pressure stabilization of macro-scale fracture plugging zone. Friction failure and shear failure are the two major failure patterns of fracture plugging zone. The strength of force chain depends on the performance of micro-scale LCM, and the LCM key performance parameters include particle size distribution, fiber aspect ratio, friction coefficient, compressive strength, soluble ability and high temperature resistance. Results of lab experiments and field test show that lost circulation control quality can be effectively improved with the optimal material selection based on the extracted key performance parameters of LCMs.

Height Detection and Analysis of Water Flowing Fractured Zone of Coal Face

Taking 91105 working face as the research object, the observation method of water flowing fractured zone and the layout of mining holes were determined by analyzing the field geological structure. It was shown that the fractured zone height and the ratio given by the measured method were 52.33 and 12.46, respectively. By the numerical simulation method with the software of UDEC, the fractured zone height and the ratio were 42.5 and 10.12. By comparison of measured height data and UDEC numerical simulation, there were some differences between the measured height and the calculated results of UDEC numerical simulation method. The method of simulation can be used as the technical basis for the design of waterproof coal pillar in the future.

Deep learning for pore-scale two-phase flow:Modelling drainage in realistic porous media

This paper introduces a deep learning workflow to predict phase distributions within complex geometries during two-phase capillary-dominated drainage.We utilize subsamples from Computerized Tomography(CT)images of rocks and incorporate pixel size,interfacial tension,contact angle,and pressure as inputs.First,an efficient morphology-based simulator creates a diverse dataset of phase distributions.Then,two commonly used convolutional and recurrent neural networks are explored and their deficiencies are highlighted,particularly in capturing phase connectivity.Subsequently,we develop a Higher-Dimensional Vision Transformer(HD-ViT)that drains pores solely based on their size,with phase connectivity enforced as a post-processing step.This enables inference for images of varying sizes,resolutions,and inlet-outlet setup.After training on a massive dataset of over 9.5 million instances,HD-ViT achieves excellent performance.We demonstrate the accuracy and speed advantage of the model on new and larger sandstone and carbonate images.We further evaluate HD-ViT against experimental fluid distribution images and the corresponding Lattice-Boltzmann simulations,producing similar outcomes in a matter of seconds.In the end,we train and validate a 3D version of the model.

Unconfined compressive strength and failure behaviour of completely weathered granite from a fault zone

Understanding the strength characteristics and deformation behaviour of the tunnel surrounding rock in a fault zone is significant for tunnel stability evaluation.In this study,a series of unconfined compression tests were conducted to investigate the mechanical characteristics and failure behaviour of completely weathered granite(CWG)from a fault zone,considering with height-diameter(h/d)ratio,dry densities(ρd)and moisture contents(ω).Based on the experimental results,a regression mathematical model of unconfined compressive strength(UCS)for CWG was developed using the Multiple Nonlinear Regression method(MNLR).The research results indicated that the UCS of the specimen with a h/d ratio of 0.6 decreased with the increase ofω.When the h/d ratio increased to 1.0,the UCS increasedωwith up to 10.5%and then decreased.Increasingρd is conducive to the improvement of the UCS at anyω.The deformation and rupture process as well as final failure modes of the specimen are controlled by h/d ratio,ρd andω,and the h/d ratio is the dominant factor affecting the final failure mode,followed byωandρd.The specimens with different h/d ratio exhibited completely different fracture mode,i.e.,typical splitting failure(h/d=0.6)and shear failure(h/d=1.0).By comparing the experimental results,this regression model for predicting UCS is accurate and reliable,and the h/d ratio is the dominant factor affecting the UCS of CWG,followed byρd and thenω.These findings provide important references for maintenance of the tunnel crossing other fault fractured zones,especially at low confining pressure or unconfined condition.

The algorithm of 3D multi-scale volumetric curvature and its application

To fully extract and mine the multi-scale features of reservoirs and geologic structures in time/depth and space dimensions, a new 3D multi-scale volumetric curvature （MSVC） methodology is presented in this paper. We also propose a fast algorithm for computing 3D volumetric curvature. In comparison to conventional volumetric curvature attributes, its main improvements and key algorithms introduce multi-frequency components expansion in time-frequency domain and the corresponding multi-scale adaptive differential operator in the wavenumber domain, into the volumetric curvature calculation. This methodology can simultaneously depict seismic multi-scale features in both time and space. Additionally, we use data fusion of volumetric curvatures at various scales to take full advantage of the geologic features and anomalies extracted by curvature measurements at different scales. The 3D MSVC can highlight geologic anomalies and reduce noise at the same time. Thus, it improves the interpretation efficiency of curvature attributes analysis. The 3D MSVC is applied to both land and marine 3D seismic data. The results demonstrate that it can indicate the spatial distribution of reservoirs, detect faults and fracture zones, and identify their multi-scale properties.

In-situ observations of damage-fracture evolution in surrounding rock upon unloading in 2400-m-deep tunnels

The damage-fracture evolution of deep rock mass has obvious particularity,which is revealed in 2400-mdeep tunnels by field tests.The evolution of the excavation damaged zone depth is consistent with that of the fractured zone depth.The ratio of the excavation damaged zone depth to the excavation fractured zone depth is greater than 2.0 in a rock mass with both high strength and good integrity,but less than1.5 in a rock mass with lower strength or poor integrity.Zonal disintegration in a rock mass with high strength and fair integrity is more likely to occur when it contains more than two groups of primary fractures in damaged zones.Fractures develop outward in zonal disintegration but are totally different from the single-zone fracture,in which the fractures develop inward,and it is the starting position of the fractured zone when the excavation surface of the middle pilot is 7–9 m close to the pre-set borehole and it stops after the excavation surface of the baseplate is 11–14 m away.The most intense evolution occurs around 2–4 m from the pre-set borehole in the sidewall expansion stage.The research results provide a reference for the monitoring scheme and support design of CJPL-Ⅲin its future construction.

Seismic effort of blasting wave transmitted in coal-rock mass associated with mining operation

Microseismic effects during the transmission of seismic waves in coal and rock mass associated with mining operation were studied by on-site blasting tests and microseismic monitoring in LW704 of Southern Colliery,Australia,by using spread velocities,amplitudes and frequency contents as the main analysis parameters.The results show that the average P-wave velocity,mean values of combined maximal amplitudes and frequencies of the first arrivals are all reduced significantly along with goaf expanding and intensity weakening of overlying strata during mining process.A full roof fracturing can make the average P-wave velocities,combined maximal amplitudes and frequencies of first arrivals reduce to about 69.8%,92.2% and 60.0%,respectively.The reduction of the above seismic parameters reveals dynamic effects of the variation of strata structure and property to the wave transmission and energy dissipation of blasting wave.The research greatly benefits further study on stability of surrounding rock under the destructive effort by mine tremor,blasting,etc,and provides experimental basis for source relocation and parameter optimization of seismic monitoring as well.

Forecasting water disaster for a coal mine under the Xiaolangdi reservoir

Xin’an coal mine, Henan Province, faces the risk of water inrush because 40% of the area of the coal mine is under the surface water of the Xiaolangdi reservoir. To forecast water disaster, an effective aquifuge and a limit of water infiltration were determined by rock-phase analysis and long term observations of surface water and groundwater. By field monitoring, as well as physical and numerical simulation experiments, we obtained data reflecting different heights of a water flow fractured zone (WFFZ) under different mining conditions, derived a formula to calculate this height and built a forecasting model with the aid of GIS. On the basis of these activities, the coal mine area was classified into three sub-areas with different potential of water inrush. In the end, our research results have been applied in and verified by industrial mining experiments at three working faces and we were able to present a successful example of coal mining under a large reservoir.

Formation mechanism and height calculation of the caved zone and water-conducting fracture zone in solid backfill mining

To study the heights of the caved zone and water-conducting fracture zone in backfill mining,the failure mechanism of strata during backfill mining was analyzed,and a method for determining the heights of the two zones was proposed based on key strata theory.The movement and failure regularity of the strata above the backfilling panel were revealed through numerical simulation.Considering the geologic conditions of the CT101 backfilling panel,the height of the fracture zone was determined using the proposed method along with empirical calculation,numerical simulation,and borehole detection.The results of the new calculation method were similar to in situ measurements.The traditional empirical formula,which is based on the equivalent mining height model,resulted in large errors during calculation.The findings indicate the reliability of the new method and demonstrate its significance for creating reference data for related studies.

Statistical damage model for quasi-brittle materials under uniaxial tension

Based on the parallel bar system, combining with the synergetic method, the catastrophe theory and the acoustic emission test, a new motivated statistical damage model for quasi-brittle solid was developed. Taking concrete for instances, the rationality and the flexibility of this model and its parameters-determining method were identified by the comparative analyses between theoretical and experimental curves. The results show that the model can simulate the whole damage and fracture process in the fracture process zone of material when the materials arc exposed to quasi-static uniaxial tensile traction. The influence of the mesoscopic damage mechanism on the macroscopic mechanical properties of quasi-brittle materials is summarized into two aspects, rupture damage and yield damage. The whole damage course is divided into the statistical even damage phase and the local breach phase, corresponding to the two stages described by the catastrophe theory. The two characteristic states, the peak nominal stress state and the critical state are distinguished, and the critical state plays a key role during the whole damage evolution course.

Height prediction of water-flowing fracture zone with a geneticalgorithm support-vector-machine method

Prediction of the height of a water-flowing fracture zone(WFFZ)is the foundation for evaluating water bursting conditions on roof coal.By taking the Binchang mining area as the study area and conducting an in-depth study of the influence of coal seam thickness,burial depth,working face length,and roof category on the height of a WFFZ,we proposed that the proportion of hard rock in different roof ranges should be used to characterise the influence of roof category on WFFZ height.Based on data of WFFZ height and its influence index obtained from field observations,a prediction model is established for WFFZ height using a combination of a genetic algorithm and a support-vector machine.The reliability and superiority of the prediction model were verified by a comparative study and an engineering application.The results show that the main factors affecting WFFZ height in the study area are coal seam thickness,burial depth,working face length,and roof category.Compared with multiple-linear-regression and back-propagation neural-network approaches,the height-prediction model of the WFFZ based on a genetic-algorithm support-vector-machine method has higher training and prediction accuracy and is more suitable for WFFZ prediction in the mining area.

A fracture model for assessing tensile mode crack growth resistance of rocks

Evaluating the fracture resistance of rocks is essential for predicting and preventing catastrophic failure of cracked structures in rock engineering.This investigation developed a brittle fracture model to predict tensile mode(mode I)failure loads of cracked rocks.The basic principle of the model is to estimate the reference crack corresponding to the fracture process zone(FPZ)based on the maximum normal strain(MNSN)ahead of the crack tip,and then use the effective crack to calculate the fracture toughness.We emphasize that the non-singular stress/strain terms should be considered in the description of the MNSN.In this way,the FPZ,non-singular terms and the biaxial stress state at the crack tip are simul-taneously considered.The principle of the model is explicit and easy to apply.To verify the proposed model,laboratory experiments were performed on a rock material using six groups of specimens.The model predicted the specimen geometry dependence of the measured fracture toughness well.More-over,the potential of the model in analyzing the size effect of apparent fracture toughness was discussed and validated through experimental data reported in the literature.The model was demonstrated su-perior to some commonly used fracture models and is an excellent tool for the safety assessment of cracked rock structures.

Fractal Feature of Western Fracture Zone in Xikuangshan Antimony Mine and its Geological Significance

In Xikuangshan antimony ore-field, the western fracture zone is a composite of major fault, F75, and its secondary faults, such as F71, F72 and F3 etc.. On plane, the fracture zone scatters from southwest to northeast, and concentrates from upper to deeper level on profile. All ore-bodies exist in the carbonate of footwall of the major fault or that of the footwall of its secondary faults. From 480 m and 320 m to 120 m level, the fractal dimensional number of the fault system decreases from 1.482 2 and 1.448 6 to 1.339 2, which indicates the form of fracture zone becoming more simple at deeper level. And in five sub-ranges, the III and IV sub-ranges are the known area, and the I, II and V sub-ranges are unknown. The fractal studies of the western fracture zone in these sub-ranges show that the fractal dimensional numbers of the I and II, being 1.201 5 and 1.278 0, respectively, are smaller than that of the III and IV, being 1.475 9 and 1.576 9, respectively; and that of the V, being 1.571 2, keeps with that of the III, IV sub-ranges. So mineralization is not well in I and II sub-ranges, and V sub-range is the best to benefit mineralization.

Fracture development around deep underground excavations: Insights from FDEM modelling

Over the past twenty years, there has been a growing interest in the development of numerical modelsthat can realistically capture the progressive failure of rock masses. In particular, the investigation ofdamage development around underground excavations represents a key issue in several rock engineeringapplications, including tunnelling, mining, drilling, hydroelectric power generation, and the deepgeological disposal of nuclear waste. The goal of this paper is to show the effectiveness of a hybrid finitediscreteelement method （FDEM） code to simulate the fracturing mechanisms associated with theexcavation of underground openings in brittle rock formations. A brief review of the current state-of-theartmodelling approaches is initially provided, including the description of selecting continuum- anddiscontinuum-based techniques. Then, the influence of a number of factors, including mechanical and insitu stress anisotropy, as well as excavation geometry, on the simulated damage is analysed for threedifferent geomechanical scenarios. Firstly, the fracture nucleation and growth process under isotropicrock mass conditions is simulated for a circular shaft. Secondly, the influence of mechanical anisotropy onthe development of an excavation damaged zone （EDZ） around a tunnel excavated in a layered rockformation is considered. Finally, the interaction mechanisms between two large caverns of an undergroundhydroelectric power station are investigated, with particular emphasis on the rock mass responsesensitivity to the pillar width and excavation sequence. Overall, the numerical results indicate that FDEMsimulations can provide unique geomechanical insights in cases where an explicit consideration offracture and fragmentation processes is of paramount importance. 2014 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Deformation mechanism and stability control of roadway along a fault subjected to mining

It is difficult to maintain the roadway around a fault because of the fractured surroundings, complex stress environment, and large and intense deformation in the mining process. Based on a tailgate of panel $2205 in Tunliu colliery, in Shanxi province, China, we investigated the evolution of stress and displace- ment of rocks surrounding the roadway during the drivage and mining period using theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and field trial methods. We analyzed the deformation and failure mechanisms of the tailgate near a fault. The deformation of surrounding rock caused by unloading in the drivage period is large and asymmetric, the roadway convergence increases with activation of the fault and secondary fracture develops in the mining period. Therefore, we proposed a specific control technique of the road- way along a fault as follows： （1） High-strength yielding bolt not only supports the shallow rock to load- bearing structures, but also releases primary deformation energy by use of a pressure release device in order to achieve high resistance to the pressure retained： （2） Grouting of near-fault ribside after initial stabilization of the rock deformation is used to reinforce the broken rock, and to improve the integral load-bearing capacity ol~ the roadway. The research results were successfully applied to a field trial.